We had to go a few miles up a jeep trail to get to the trailhead. We did the jeeping the night before and camped at the trailhead. The peak behind the Jeep is what we thought we were climbing, but we later realized that that's just a no-name 13106-foot peak. We'd be climing another 1203 feet higher than that.
This is the real peak we'd be climbing. This picture is taken above treeline, just to give you a little sense of how high it is. The trail approaches from the left and follows the ridge you see as the horizon to the peak.
Here's Nancy as we're resting about halfway up.
If you look back at the picture of the peak, this shot is taken just above the first horizontal leg below the peak on the left. We're only about 500 feet below the top (and another half mile to walk), but those were by far the hardest 500 feet to climb. Partly because the trail was very steep and on scree for parts, but also because the air was so thin.
We made it! A nice group was kind enough to take our picture at the top.
This is the same spot as the last shot, but zoomed out so you can see more mountains.
That cliff to the right in the previous shot goes down for about 2000 feet to the valley below. That lake you can just make out is 2800 feet down (the same elevation as the trailhead, but much closer and in a different valley).
It may have been in the upper 90's in Grand Junction, but it was darned cold on the peak.
This is me lying down next to the United States Geological Survey marker, which marks the precise location of the peak. See, I was there! The maker reads: "U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey Reference Mark. For information write to the director, Washington, D.C. $250 Fine or imprisonment for disturbing this mark. 1895."
This is the East Fork of the Cimarron River as seen from the peak. Last year, Nancy and I hiked up the middle fork, which is the next one to the left.
Nice marmot. This guy was hanging out at the peak just lazing around.
From the top, the mountains seem to go on forever. It's very comforting to look out on something that's so untouched and unchanged by people. The peak on the right is Wetterhorn (14015 feet). We met a guy on the top of Uncompahgre who was hiking a big 15 mile loop and climbed Wetterhorn that morning and had just made it to the top of Uncompahgre when we did. Crazy, but impressive.
On the way back down, we saw a whole colony of marmots which had built a city in the side of a creek bank. In this one picture, you can see four marmots, including a cute baby one on the right.